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…That’s right. I’m back. It’s been too long. And I have a few things I want to show you. I’ve been meaning to share them for a while, but I am kind of a procrastinator.

“Kind of.”

First off (and this is pretty recent): Walk Off the Earth! One of the most unique bands ever! They are mostly a cover band, but the way they perform is absolutely one-of-a-kind. Here is there most famous video: a cover of a song by Gotye.

They have also made covers of Someone Like You, Party Rock Anthem (wow, I used to hate that song until I saw their cover!), the Backin’ Up Song and more! The videos are all on YouTube and the songs you can buy on iTunes.

Google sure does know how to rival everything, don’t they? They know people will go for their stuff even if it’s just their approach to someone else’s original product. Why? I think that because so many people have Google accounts, they go for it when they can get another free service without setting up another account.

And I have to admit, since I’ve got a new netbook now with a webcam, I went for Google Chat, which from the title you can probably guess is their version of Skype. Yes, I have Skype too, but some other people I know have this Google Chat thing, and I thought, why not? I still only have the video/voice chat plugin, which means that I can only make calls through an Internet browser over Gmail, iGoogle or orkut, which, by the way, is Google’s Facebook equivalent, I believe.

What do you think Google will copy next?! 🙂 Let me know here or at our new Facebook page. Like! Comment! Subscribe! (Wow, I kind of almost sounded like a YouTuber there!!)

Bags fly free…on Southwest! At least the first two checked bags. Speaking of Southwest, one week ago was my 13th birthday and we happened to be traveling on Southwest Airlines that day! Turns out my mom had told the flight attendants it was my birthday at the beginning of the flight, so as the plane was on final approach (that means coming in to land), and it was dark out, the flight attendant dimmed the lights, and had everyone press their call buttons. This caused small lights to turn on all throughout the 737’s cabin, like candles, and then of course everyone sang “Happy Birthday!” And then of course I blew out the candles! =)

You will not get that on United Airlines…

And speaking of Southwest – one of the funniest pre-flight announcements I’ve heard (unfortunately this isn’t my own video!)…

Last Sunday, my family and I were, um, “lucky (not really)” enough to meet a family of complete jerks last Saturday. We were at the pool, and my brother and I were playing catch with a squishy ball, one of those that is meant to be in the pool. Suddenly these two girls, younger than me, got right in the middle of our game and intercepted my throw. They then denied that they had our ball, and their mom (rudely!) denied it too when my mom asked her about it.

But that’s only the beginning. This family (the mom, dad and two girls) happened to have their stuff set up right next to where we had ours. Around the same time our own ball went missing, the lady from the other family gave us this other ball, a colorful beach ball they had “found” earlier. Later, my brother and I were playing with THAT ball when that same lady suddenly caught it and swam away with it. Then she and HER family began playing with it. They said they “decided they wanted it back.” Not only that, but when my other, eight-year-old brother was swimming harmlessly by those horrible people, that lady swore at him! And my mom couldn’t even drag an apology out of her.

Well, needless to say, that made me pretty angry inside for the rest of the day. I’m moving on, but I’m pretty sure those people still have our ball. *sigh*

A few days ago, my dad showed me music from Canadian band Rush, and their music is amazing! The one I now really like is The Camera Eye; it’s an amazing, eloquent song with meaningful, moving lyrics and a unique theme – not like most pop/rock songs. Since it’s nearly eleven minutes long, it never did become a radio hit, but anyone who gives it a chance gets a good chance of loving it.

Other Rush songs like Countdown and Losing It are also awesome. I’m glad my dad showed me them – I had heard of Rush and one or two of their songs, but now I really recognize them as brilliant. Listen to a Rush song; they are only three people but they sound wonderful.

Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was a Lockheed Tristar coming in to land in Miami. The landing gear was lowered, but the light that indicated the front gear had locked in place didn’t turn on. All three members of the cockpit crew: captain, first officer and engineering expert, were worried that the plane couldn’t land safely, and it was pitch dark out over Miami. The captain decided to circle around and try landing again, and programs the Tristar’s sophisticated auto-pilot to fly at 2,000 feet. Then, the plane circled over the Everglades to try landing in Miami again. Read the rest of this entry »

Monopoly, The Game of Life, Scrabble. These games are always a great pastime, but now, there’s a new way to get them: on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Electronic Arts has teamed up with Hasbro to create mobile versions of classic board games, and you can buy them on the Apple Store for great low prices. Now, these games are easier to play, set up and look especially amazing on the iPhone 4’s Retina Display screen (and iPod Touch 4). And the iPhone/iPod’s unique features make the games even better; in Monopoly, you shake to roll the dice. In the Game of Life you twirl your finger on the touch screen to spin. 3-D graphics make the game a beautiful experience, and there are so many games to choose from. There are board games like Monopoly and Risk, video games like the Sims 3, and even games exclusively from EA, like Survive High School. So if you own an iPhone, iPod Touch or even iPad, definitely look into this, especially if you have one with Retina Display. And, of course, confirm that you like the actual game! And that you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Remember, if you have an iPad, there are HD iPad versions of many of these! And, check out the EA Mobile Games website to see all of there iGames (iGames?!) and any sales going on (look for sales especially during holidays like Christmas or Easter, or at important times of the year, like the summer solstice).